On May 5, 2004, at 4:04 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> Many of our clients are now being told that they will receive a "shot
> of
> Pitocin" immediately postpartum.  They are told it is mandatory.

NOTHING IS MANDATORY!! It is the Mom's body and she must make an
informed choice about whether she wants pitocin post partum. Why are
they doing it? When my third was born, they wanted to give me a shot of
pitocin to make sure my uterus closed properly. We had them wait about
1/2 an hour and it was clear that it was closing down just fine without
anyone pharmaceutical help.
In my childbirth classes I spend a lot of time talking about making
choices and that this is your body and your baby and the choices are
your responsibility. No one can force you to take or not take any
particular tests or shots or anything else. However, many things will
be presented that way, the default is that procedures are done unless
they are actively refused by parents/patients.  Parents must decide
which things (if any) they want to learn more about and which things
(if any) they want to refuse.
That is very hard to do when you are in the process of having a baby.
That's why I recommend that people think about taking a doula - someone
who can give information, help parents think about their choices and
navigate the medical establishment when there are concerns or
questions.

Naomi Bar-Yam
--------------------------------
Naomi Bar-Yam Ph.D.
[log in to unmask]

Researcher, Writer, Educator
in Maternal and Child Health
--------------------------------

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html